MINSK, 29 July (BelTA) – Each region of the country should show high-quality economic growth, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said at a meeting hosted by the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee to take stock of the region's social and economic development in January-June 2021, BelTA has learned.
“Today, under the leadership of the head of state, our country is holding its ground in the face of the challenges we are experiencing. These are the pandemic, the sanctions, and the political and economic pressure of the collective West,” Roman Golovchenko said. At the same time, the situation in the country is calm, stable and manageable, he stressed. “Social stability has been preserved, salaries keep growing consistently and even better than we expected. All social services are running in a consistent, targeted and efficient manner,” the prime minister noted.
“If we want to survive and keep moving forward as planned, we need high-quality economic growth. Each region should contribute to the national growth. This is the main issue on the agenda. It is a guarantee of security and stability of our state. We will cope with everything else,” the Belarusian head of government said.
Roman Golovchenko is convinced that a critical and realistic assessment of the situation on the ground is needed. It is important to identify all the bottlenecks, including in the regulatory framework.
The prime minister cited the following figures: 13.5% of the country's workforce lives in Gomel Oblast. The region generates almost 20% of the national industrial output and 12% of the total revenue. “Over the past year, Gomel Oblast improved its GRP per person employed in the economy, but many problems remain,” he stated. Roman Golovchenko noted that some of them were voiced at the meeting of the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee, at other events, yet it is important to determine what systemic, targeted, personnel and regulatory decisions still need to be made.
Among the topical issues Roman Golovchenko named the operation of agricultural organizations of the region.
Investment is the most important instrument to fulfill development targets. The Belarusian head of government emphasized that more than half of investments of the region's enterprises is channeled into construction and installation works, and not into machines and equipment.
Roman Golovchenko recalled the task set by the head of state to set up one or two major production facilities in the regions and one or two SMEs in the districts during the five-year period. “No red tape will be tolerated,” he emphasized. The prime minister instructed the regional executive committee to make final decisions on all the projects in the region in collaboration with ministries and concerns by 1 November, including decisions on the location, sources of funding, timing and those responsible for implementation of these projects.
Financial and economic activities are among priority matters. According to Roman Golovchenko, it is important to pay attention to overdue accounts payable and receivable: “These are companies' own funds, the very source of investment that is lacking.”
The efforts to reduce the number of loss-making enterprises should also be high on the agenda. “The task of the regional authorities is to help such enterprises to recover as soon as possible. It is necessary for each of them to have a clear plan of action to reverse the situation,” the prime minister said. He also drew attention to some alarming trends in the region's export activities.
“A stable economy can help improve the quality of life of everyone and, in general, help ensure national security. The awareness about this, well-coordinated work of everyone, of the entire power vertical is a guarantee of the further development of our state,” Roman Golovchenko is convinced. In his opinion, it is crucial to understand the responsibility and the importance of the work that everyone does in their field of expertise.
“The regional authorities should give a bigger focus to integrity, analytics, exposure of [negative] trends, as well as preventive action,” the prime minister concluded.
